Yuki Koto Kiku by Koge-Donbo Manga Review

When the patriarch of the Nekogami family dies, a free for all begins to see who will inherit the family fortune. Sukekiyo, the rightful heir, is away at war, and according to the terms of the will, must return within six months to claim his inheritance. With no way to get in contact with him, the triplets, Yoki, Koto, and Kiku are next in line to gain control of the fortune, along with Sukekiyo’s finance, their servant Tamayo. Each has a dream to accomplish, and each is determined to get the cash!

This is a parody of the Japanese novel Inugami-ke no Ichizoku, a mystery about a private detective. Not having read the original, I didn’t understand most of the jokes that flew around the pages. Even the physical comedy didn’t seem that funny. Axes rained from the skies and poisonings abounded, but not much else went on. I don’t generally enjoy humorous manga, and was really hoping for some plot to accompany the gags.

What plot there was seemed a little random. There was the shinigami that was attempting to obtain the soul of Koto, but his efforts were continually foiled. There was also the detective investigating the death of the triplets at the end of the first chapter – it seems that they all poisoned themselves. Don’t ask, I don’t think it’s supposed to make any sense. Then there was the Phantom Thief Red, who was after the family treasure. He was a parody of another manga character, according to the translation notes, and being unfamiliar with him, his scenes didn’t seem to fit into the book and weren’t that amusing.

The art isn’t bad, and there’s an array of comical facial expressions flashing across the characters faces. I just wish the jokes had been as funny. If you are familiar with the adventures of Kosuke Kindaichi, I’m sure you’ll find more to enjoy in Yoki Koto Kiku than I did. The rest of you might want to pick up another Koge Donbo title instead.